HippoLogic's blog

Daily writing promptWhat’s the best way to build self-confidence?View all responses I’ve been coaching equestrians for 3 decades. I’ve been coached for over 4 decades in training animals and riding horses. What I’ve found it this. A Big Pitfall in Building Self-Confidence When you start comparing your Chapter 1 with someone else’s Chapter 5 or 15. You never know how much experience someone…

Do you have a herd bound horse that you can only work in the arena? You can’t ride your horse and he desperate needs to lose weight? Are you looking to help your horse get fit with non ridden exercise? Weightloss for Equines Before we look at R+ Movement Training, lets get the big picture first. Weight loss for equines is based on 3 pillars: Management: How we keep our horses: do they move…

For different horses over the years I used different brands of muzzles. Each brand has its own fit, material and shape. More muzzles with different fits have become available in the past decade. Try different ones and choose the one that fits your horse and your purpose best. The most important things are To Set Your Horse up for Success, and to Train your horse to use the grazing…

Your horse walks nicely beside you… until something more interesting shows up. Like a patch of fresh, juicy grass. Suddenly, you don’t exist. He’s in your personal space. He’s pushing you out of the way, or he’s pulling you towards the grass. Grrr, so annoying! Or you don’t notice it because it’s such a small issue. Harmless, even. You ignore it. (Maybe because you don’t have a solution). But…

When you’re working with a rescue horse, you know they often bring their own (behavioral) challenges. After all, they needed to be rescued for a reason… Your horse lets you halter him…You spray him with fly spray…You get the fly mask on. Done, right? But something feels off. He accepts it, but he’s not relaxed.He hesitates when he sees the halter— just a bit.He backs up and moves away from…

Most people think clicker training involves giving the horse a lot of treats.What they don’t know is that the word ‘treat’ in the context isn’t the same as in the context of spoiling your horse after a good ride.Here are 5 ways to use food in training without contributing to the weight problem of your horse: 5 Tips for Clicker Training Overweight Horses Subscribe for more blogs about clicker…

I’ve been clicker training (R+) horses since the late 90’s. Shortly after I started to teach R+ to my clients, too. I saw tremendous positive changes in the attitude of the horses. I saw the bond between owners and horses strengthening because mutual trust and understanding replaced dominance and coercion. The Secrets of Horse Training There are no secrets, really. And I wish more equestrians…

Laminitis used to be a death sentence a few decades ago. A lot has changed since then. I discovered how I could get my reluctant, overweight and recovering from laminitis horse fit with clicker training. That’s something else that wouldn’t have been imaginable 30 years ago: getting your horse moving, with … treats? Without riding, lunging and roundpenning? How? Pitfalls to get my fat horse fit…

This is one of the biggest fears for people who are starting with clicker training. In this blog I already touched on what ideas need to change to become successful with clicker training horses. It will give you a foundation for what I’m explaining here. Why a Horse Says ‘No’ in Training In short, there are many reasons why a horse doesn’t do what we want. Here are a few (common)…

Many horsewomen want to bond with their horses. They want to have a connection. Here’s how to develop a bond, based on mutual trust and understanding. Befriending Horses is Simple Horses are social animals. We are, too. When you want to befriend your horse, you simply do what you do to make friends with another person. Spend time together. No agenda, just being. During such times, you’ll learn…

When you try to train your horse with positive reinforcement from a traditional (negative reinforcement) training perspective, it’s difficult. My name is Sandra Poppema from HippoLogic. I’ve been clicker training horses since ’99. I was a private dressage coach back then. I saw people struggle with their horses due to misunderstanding and miscommunication between riders and their horses. I…